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Just as the summit of Ireland's highest mountain is often covered in mist, its name is shrouded in uncertainty. Unlike some lesser peaks, such as Mangerton or Croagh Patrick, it is not mentioned in any surviving early Irish texts. P.W. Joyce suggests that meaning of this name is 'inverted reaping hook' and that this sense can be appreciated from the middle of the Hag's Glen. He proposes that the reaping hook is inverted in the sense that it is convex rather than concave [Irish Names of Places, vol. i, p. 6]. The serrated ridges which run up the north face of Carrauntoohil are certainly amongst its most distinctive features and are therefore likely to have given name to the mountain. However, the image of a 'convex reaping-hook' is a very odd and complex one on which to base a place-name, and the use of tuathal to mean inverted, while found in dictionaries, seems to be without parallel in other Irish place-names. It seems more likely that the second element is simply the personal name 'Tuathal' as John O'Donovan believed. This forename was common in Medieval Ireland and is the basis of the surname Ó Tuathail (O'Toole). It also occurs in Lios Tuathail (Listowel, Co. Kerry) and Carraig Thuathail (Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork), which the Flanagans interpret in both cases as a personal name (Irish Place Names). Intriguigingly, one of the earliest accounts to mention Ireland's highest mountain, written by Isaac Weld in 1812, refers to it as 'Gheraun-tuel', which suggests that the first element was not corrán, but rather géarán, 'fang', which is found in the name of several other Kerry mountains. On the basis of this one reference, it is difficult to say whether this represents an earlier form of the name or whether it was a corruption. For further information on the name, see Paul Tempan, Some Notes on the Names of Six Kerry Mountains, JKAHS, ser. 2, vol. v (2005), 5-19.
Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland. Carrauntoohil is the highest point in county Kerry.Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1/

“Another story from one of those races was the year I bought some new socks and put them on for the race. Everything went well on the way up but on the way down I was in a terrible state as something was going wrong in my foot. When I finished and examined the source of the pain I found that I had failed to notice a little steel staple that held the socks together and it had embedded itself into my toes on the descent and was bleeding.

“The year 2008 was also an adventure as the sole came off my shoe coming off Caher [the secondary peak one has to ascend to get to Carrauntohil]. The only part holding on was the heel, so I had to race the last 20 minutes with the entire sole flapping about and sometimes folding back underneath my landing foot while all the time trying to be as gentle as possible not to lose it entirely.”

On memorable opponents, Lenihan first names Frances Cosgrove, who finished runner up to him on 6 occasions. “I would love to have seen that man win a Carrauntohill,” Lenihan says, “Though of course not at my expense. I feared him the most as he was always very close to me and he never accepted defeat until you crossed that line — so it was a flat out race from gun to line.

“Probably the most talented runner to race with me on Carrauntohill would have to be scots man John Brooks who whipped me in 2004,” Lenihan says, adding, “but I did take solace in the fact that he was still over 3 minutess outside the record. John Henegan was probably the most unlucky not to have won a Carrauntohill title as he had me on the ropes at the end of the 2005 race and I only held on by 3 seconds.”

On calling it quits, Lenihan relates. “I had a disastrous race in 2006 and could only manage fourth and all the papers had the line ‘end of an era’ included somewhere in the write-ups. My answer to this was to win it 2007-2008-2009. When the course was changed in 2010 it lost it’s appeal to me and I didn’t take part, also injury problems to hip and groin was a factor.

Now 52, Lenihan has been spending much of his free time designing and leading walks in his beloved hills.

On running Carrountohil again, he says, “Many people want me to do the new route some year and maybe now the fact that I’ve missed a couple of years I could go and jog it without any pressure of been expected to be up there. In a strange way it would be nice to experience the feel of just taking part in the Carrauntohill race without the huge pressure of being expected to win.” Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1/comment/6476/